Kobi Bosshard is widely regarded as 'the grandfather' of New Zealand contemporary jewellery. This stunning exhibiton features a selection of his jewellery from the 1960s to the present; works loaned from public and private collections around New Zealand and overseas.
Born in Switzerland in 1938, Kobi trained as a goldsmith as did his father and grandfather. In 1966, he came to New Zealand where he worked as an alpine guide. He established Fluxus (with Steve Mulqueen) in 1983 and continued working as a full-time jeweller up until his semi-retirement in 2001.
Exhibition curator Damian Skinner describes Bosshard as the pivotal link between the modernist jewellers of the 1960s and the following generations of contemporary New Zealand jewellers, "a maker who, steeped in the tradition of modern European goldsmithing, came to New Zealand and built upon his inheritance to make works that are of this place and time".
The exhibition is accompanied by Kobi Bosshard: Goldsmith, a substantial 144 page monograph authored by the exhibition curator Damian Skinner and published and distributed by Bateman Publishers. Kobi Bosshard: Goldsmith has been supported by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and features specially commissioned photographs by Studio La Gonda.
An Objectspace touring exhibition.